politics

NATO Continues To Prepare For War With Russia

NATO uses any pretext to accuse Russia of harboring aggressive intentions. It has raised a ballyhoo over the recent deployment of Iskander short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles in the Kaliningrad region.

Time and time again, the alliance reaffirms its bogus Russia narrative. “We see a more assertive and stronger Russia that is willing to use force,” concluded NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on October 10.

At the same time, NATO is pushing ahead with its military «Schengen zone» in Europe.

«We are working to ensure that each individual soldier will not require a decision at the political level to cross the border,» said Estonian Defense Minister Hannes Hanso.

The idea is to do away with travel restrictions on the movement of NATO forces troops and equipment across Europe. There will be no need to ask for permission to move forces across national borders. It will undermine the sovereignty of member states but will facilitate cross-continent operations. The Baltic States and Poland are especially active in promoting the plan.

A NATO Schengen zone is needed for concentrating forces in forward areas in preparation for an attack across the Russian border. The formation of the much larger 40 thousand strong NATO Response Force (NRF) is on the way.

Meanwhile, US and Norwegian militaries are discussing the possibility of deploying US troops in Norway – a country which has a 200 km long common border with Russia. The deployment of US servicemen would be part of a rotating arrangement in the country that would fulfil a long-standing US wish. It was reported on October 10 that 300 combat US Marines could soon be in place at the Værnes military base near Trondheim, about 1,000 kilometres from the Russian-Norwegian frontier.

The air station also serves as part of Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway, a program that allows the Corps to store thousands of vehicles and other major pieces of equipment in temperature-controlled caves ready for combat contingency. The information that the plans are underway was confirmed by American Maj. Gen. Niel E. Nelson, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa.

300 Marines can be easily reinforced. The only purpose for the deployment is preparation for an attack against Russia. After all, the Marines Corps would be the first strike force. Russian Marines are not being deployed near US national borders, but US Marines are being deployed near Russian borders. The provocative move is taking place at the time the Russia-NATO relationship is at the lowest ebb.

According to the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe Program, Northern Europe is now being viewed as a “theatre of operations”. These steps are taken against the background of the already highlighted plans to boost NATO’s presence and intensify its military activities in the proximity of Russia’s borders.

The war preparations are taking place as Germany announced it wants a more assertive role in European defense and plans to significantly boost its defense expenditure.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen noted: «Germany is ready to engage … to take more responsibility…This is the right path, but it will require an enormous commitment of time and money».

One provocation follows another against the endless drumbeat of Western media reports about “Russian aggression”. The war preparations greatly reduce European security and the chances for revival of constructive dialogue between Russia and NATO – something Russia has been calling for so many years. Instead, the bloc is doing its best to provoke an arms race with unpredictable results.